(557) Castrovalva - Part 4

Before I start with todays episode, it doesnt really need pointing out that today is Doctor Who's 51st anniversary and weird to think that this time last year I was at the cinema watching 'Day of the Doctor' and enjoying it. This time last year in my marathon I was watching Episode 1 of 'The Web of Fear'. Today I have been watching the two Dalek movies so I decided to end today with the final episode of Castrovalva.

The final part of Peter Davison’s opening story is an odd one. I mean odd in a good way because I liked it but not in the way that I would have expected. The episode started off with the reprise of the broken glass CSO effect but then the episode seemed to slow down in terms of pace which is a brave thing to do in a final part. This is an important episode because it is where the Doctor is suppose to put the turbulent period of his post-regeneration to an end. For the last couple of weeks I have been actually making notes as opposed to just writing the review whilst I was watching the episode. This is the first episode where I have found myself actually watching the episode instead for most of the episode.

The moment where the Portreeve is revealed to be the Master is perhaps the most understatement of the series. I wrote that I knew that it was the Master and so for me this wasn’t the big moment in the episode that it should have been. On a more positive note, the effect of revelation is good. From the moment the revelation happens, the mood of the episode changes because the Master becomes obsessed with seeing the Doctor before he dies. The Master now has a reputation for coming up with convoluted plans and then realising the error at the very last minute. In this instance he has a convoluted plan but at least he doesn’t chicken out and the plan falls apart because the Doctor is able to work things out.

Adric doesn’t appear until the latter stages of the episodes is interesting because as much as I have liked Adric since he joined the show, I can’t say that I have missed him in this episode and I think that the overcrowded TARDIS problem is starting to show. Ok in previous years the show has had a trio of companions but in this instance, it just doesn’t work and on this occasion it is Adric that has suffered. Adric’s involvement in the episode might be limited but its fun because when they are heading back to the TARDIS its clear that Matthew Waterhouse is a little worse for wear.

I haven’t really commented on the direction. Fiona Cumming is only the third woman to direct a Doctor Who and at the moment the issue of women writers and directors in Doctor Who and at the moment there have been 46 directors in Doctor Who so only 7% are women and yet the figure for women writers is 0%. Fiona has done a good job during the four episodes and has directed it very well. I thought that all the special effects worked really well and I know that she returns for future stories and that’s a good thing because she’s a really good director.

The episode worked well and managed to finish Peter Davison’s opening story with a surprisingly good feeling as I approach the rest of his stories. This wasn’t the first story that Peter Davison recorded as the Doctor and this was a good idea because this is the one that people would have judged him and that meant that he could use the other stories to get to grips with the character but the downside to that is that stories some of the stories aren’t going to be as good as this one. I thought that Janet Fielding and Sarah Sutton have done really well over the course of the four episodes and even Matthew Waterhouse had a good story in the early episodes. One thing is for certain, the show is going to survive without Tom Baker and whilst the TARDIS line up is a little crowded, the stories are going to ensure that this season is one of experimentation and its going to be fun.